


no more hidden emotions

by planetundersiege



Series: Weekly TDP Drabbles 2020 [36]
Category: The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)
Genre: Cultural Differences, Drabble, Emotions, F/M, Katolis (The Dragon Prince), Post-Canon, Rayllum, Reflection, Wordcount: 100-500, tdp
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-02
Updated: 2020-09-02
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:22:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 469
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26253340
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/planetundersiege/pseuds/planetundersiege
Summary: Rayla didn't understand why humans were so open about their feelings.
Relationships: Callum/Rayla (The Dragon Prince)
Series: Weekly TDP Drabbles 2020 [36]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1588306
Kudos: 26





	no more hidden emotions

Rayla often didn’t get humans.

Not only did they look weird with their round ears, five fingers and lack of horns, but it ran deeper than that. It was their whole society that time and time again ended up confusing the moonshadow elf, even if she had dated a human for almost a year now. They were such weird creatures with social cues that made absolutely no sense.

Like, they talked about their feelings and insecurities out in the open, entrusted them to people they barely knew. Like how a baker asked Callum how he was feeling, and he had replied and told him that there was a lot of work right now as the royal advisor and that it made him a bit stressed and gloomy, but that he was fighting on.

The baker had then given Callum a pat on the shoulder and told him that everyone had bad and stressful periods in their lives, and then told Callum he had recently been through one himself. And both had seemed so glad and happy talking, like they were revealed.

Rayla had been appalled the first time that had happened, moonshadow elves would rather die than for people to believe they were weak, and would never tell someone they barely knew they were stressed or gloomy. That was a sign of not being enough, she herself still had troubles talking to Callum about that stuff, and they had been dating for almost a year. While Callum seemed to talk like it was nothing, that it wasn’t something personal and vulnerable.

It really confused Rayla.

She understood it was a culture thing, but still, all of that just felt weird, so, she told Callum.

  
“Callum, I’m wondering, why are you telling everyone about when you have a bad day or are stressed? It’s so weird to me, I was taught to never show any sign of weakness, and I know it’s a cultural thing and all, but I’d like to understand. How are you so secure in it? Others knowing whenever you’ve had a bad day. I would never do that, this is really hard for me to talk about, even though we’ve known each other for so long, but that would make me feel insecure. And just telling you that something like that would make me feel insecure makes me feel even more insecure since my mind is literally screaming “don’t disclose any weaknesses or you will be laughed at” at me.”

Callum didn’t know where to start, never having thought too much about the way they were raised, but he just nodded. He knew explanation and communication was important, and in the end he hoped that his girlfriend would not feel weak for sharing any emotions. They could navigate all of this together. Yes, like a team.


End file.
